Of Turians, Biotics, and Galactic War
by Tales from the Lee
Summary: The Turian Cabals are the Hierarchy's only biotic exclusive unit. Some soldiers simply are not satisfied when their skills are under-utilized. It is from this group that one of the rarest soldiers arises. The Turian Huntress, Nyreen Kandros. From battles on Omega to battles for the galaxy, just where will her story lead? A retelling of the Mass Effect series with minimal change
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: this is just a simple warning that I'm giving to my readers, No, I have not abandoned my FFT story, I'm currently in the process of doing extensive Act 2 edits to cut down on various grammatical errors and to adjust the dialogue to be more fitting with each individual character's identity. The next chapter of that will be in a few days hopefully.

As for new readers to my work, welcome, I hope you enjoy what I have written and I certainly encourage creating stories of your own. Do leave any feedback you'd find helpful, I'm always editing and writing new chapters however it should be known that while I'm in college the time schedule for updates is primarily going to see production during the weekends when I've got free time. So there may be short periods where I don't update frequently. I of course have no intention to let these stories remain unfinished. Now, with that all said, I think it's high time I actually began the story

By the Spirits:

Chapter 1 "Turf Wars"

Omega Station, Omega Nebula: 2185 CE.

Scouts had eyes on the situation as it progressed. Informants were in position eyeing the war of attrition as the hours drew on. Archangel had been at it for days, looked like playing with the hornet's nest didn't pay off for him. Poor bastard didn't look to be getting out of this one alive, not with the Blue Suns, The Eclipse, and the Blood Pack all gunning for him.

They peered through slits in windows, or lay prone on distant roofs with spotting scopes to get a clear view of the action. All the best viewing locations were too dangerous to occupy. Archangel was a skilled marksman, and the wounds to the mercenaries who had tried to set up sniping positions were a clear testament to that fact.

So they watched, waiting.

A wave of freelancers would jump the barricade, Archangel would gun them down, and periodically he'd take the relative calm when a wave was slaughtered to try and eat the scant amount of food from an already emptied food tube or to check his rifle for technical faults.

The watchers would make notes of this. 1450._ He's running out of Levo-amino rations. 1700 Another thermal clip has been expended. A bullet grazed his shoulder plates at 2200. He opened an ammo-crate, looks like he's digging in for the long run._

"Eyes up, another wave is incoming." The Omni-tools on the scouts' arms glowed slightly as they re-routed the message among the onlookers. Across the district various people all began watching the scene unfold intently.

The various eyes all pieced together the aspects of the battlefield. Each one gave a specific viewpoint of the scenario to the rest of the scouts.

"Wave just came over the wall, looks like freelancers again; I don't see any markings on them." A human voice announced, his communications running through his earpiece and redirecting through to the Omni-tool channel the others shared. Their tools universally translated into the various languages used by the rest of the group.

"No markings spotted on this side either, doesn't look like anything special from this side. Freelance fodder, expendable infantry." A Turian voice answered, noticeable only by the vocal reverberation that marked a turian voice from other species voices.

"Guys, you're not going to believe this. The one in the middle, in the black armor, he's got a November Seven logo. I repeat that mercenary is November Seven." The human responded once more, urgency in his rapid speaking. He had barely spotted the small design as the man jumped over the wall and stood still for a few seconds to crack his knuckles.

"You're sure? It could be a forgery; there are a lot of freelancers down there…" The Turian implied the question; any mercenary looking to work with the bigger groups would love to flaunt an N7 designation. It would mark a soldier as especially dangerous, and extremely well trained.

"I don't think so. There aren't many soldiers with an N7 ranking, and the ones that get it rarely end up CAT6'd. Hell, most soldiers with a November designation at all don't retire. They're the closest thing Humanity's had to Spectres." The human answered, he leaned in closer to look through high powered scope, his eyes were still trained on the N7 man. He blinked for a moment, trying to process the images. The N7 man had pulled out his sidearm and opened fire…on the other freelancers?

"Are you all seeing the same thing I am?" The human asked his comrades.

"Positive. N7 just opened fire on the other freelance mercs." Another scout responded, this one a female human. If he looked into the distance he could just barely see her hiding spot, hidden inside an abandoned apartment. The windows were covered with plates of rusted scrap metal barely giving enough room for a spotting scope to peek out the holes. Luckily for her, it didn't face Archangel's hideout directly; instead it focused onto the mercenary barricade from the west side and gave her a good view of the stairway in Archangel's hideout.

"Confirmed, N7 has engaged the mercenaries." The Turian answered, all professionalism now that the stakes had been raised.

"I can't get a good look at his face; any of you have a visual?" The man asked as he followed the situation on the killing fields outside of Archangel's hideout.

"Negative, no visual on his face, he's in cover behind a taxi, he'll be out of visual range soon. Can you garner any other information on the subject?" The woman answered him. "There's an insignia on one of the other freelancers. This one seems to be on his side. Are any of you able to recognize it? Subject is female. White skin. Wearing something similar to an Asari barrier suit."

"That symbol is for Cerberus." The male human answered, finally bringing his sight to focus on the woman instead of the man. He had a good view of the symbol as he zoomed in on it. "Definitely Cerberus, no doubt about it."

"How do you know, I've never seen it before." The Turian interjected.

"Makes sense, they're a shadow organization, I only heard a couple years ago, real hush-hush in the Alliance. The investigation into Admiral Kahoku's death brought up that symbol on a lot of the bodies Commander Shepard recovered. Whoever they are, they definitely mean business."

"I've lost visual on the subjects. Does anyone else still have an eye on the situation?" The woman answered, letting the new information dangle. They'd have time to sort out the detail later, back to their jobs.

"Negative, Subject has entered Archangel's hideout, I repeat, negative visual." The Turian answered.

"No go, he's inside the building, we'll just have to wait and see what happens." The man concluded for them all.

There were a couple minutes of silence. Nobody attempted to go over the barricade and the scouts didn't open the comms channel at all. They simply watched, and listened.

"I'm spotting movement, looks like one of the freelancers is still alive on the bridge." The Turian stated, focusing his scope on the last man standing as he tried to sneak around the front of a fallen storage canister before a shot slammed through the man's skull, showering the canister behind him with blood and grey matter. "Looks like Archangel is still alive." The human scout reported in.

Another minute passed. This one the scouts did not spend idly.

"Eclipse is gearing up to make their move. Archangel is still active, which means N7 and the Cerberus Operative are either dead, or working with him. Did you guys see anything else before they made it inside?" The man asked.

"A few of the freelancers made it into the building, not sure how many are working with them. I can only guarantee those two are not a part of the mercs. " The woman mentioned.

"Anybody get a look at the man in the orange armor?" The Turian asked next.

"No, I was focusing on N7. Why?" The man answered.

"He looked a lot like Zaeed Masani."

"Who?"

"Newcomer in the Terminus Systems? Zaeed Masani is one of the most dangerous bounty hunters out there. The man isn't really dangerous because he's a perfect manhunter, way I hear it, he just refuses to die." The woman answered. "There's a lot of freelance agents here, why's it so special that Zaeed is gunning for Archangel too? There's a decent payday for the one to bag him after all."

"He stopped next to N7 when they came over the wall and it looked like he said something to him."

"So that's what? Three people gunning for the mercs, and then Archangel. It's still at best four against a few dozen mercenaries from the local syndicates. "

"Eyes up, looks like Eclipse is moving." The Turian alerted the party.

They watched for several moments as various mechs and technically skilled soldiers attempted to breach the compound. After a moment of carnage a heavy YMIR mech was dropped onto the bridge.

"Brought out the big guns, I think Archangel is running out of luck." The human male commented.

As it began to advance across the bridge, the signaling light on the front of it flashed a couple times before the large mech turned and fired on the Eclipse troops. The ensuing fight was one sided as the Eclipse infantry was mowed down by the heavy mech and the combined fire from the hideout.

The comms line stayed down for the majority of the fight, only restarting once the Eclipse band was effectively eliminated.

"Jaroth went down. That only leaves the Blue Suns and the Blood Pack. Should we make the call?" The male asked.

"Negative. Let's see where this goes."

"Focus on the lower access bridges, I'm spotting a lot of Vorcha moving across. " The woman signaled.

"The Blood Pack is looking to get in underneath him. They get in close and there won't be a thing Archangel can do to stop them. Garm's the toughest Krogan on Omega. " The man commented.

"I've got a faint image, can barely see it but it looks like our friend N7 just popped up again. He just closed a shutter on the east side of the building. Watch the fire shutters. He's shutting them to block the Blood Pack."

"Smart move, that'll funnel them up to the top and back into the kill zone." The Turian said as he spotted the N7 man again, this time on his side of the building.

"Garm looks pissed." The man mentioned as he saw the Krogan warrior march across the bridge, flanked by flamethrower hauling Vorcha.

"Don't they always?" The woman chuckled as she watched from her position, only slightly catching a glimpse of motion before scoping in to take a look. "Whoa, you guys are not going to believe this. I can barely see the stairs inside but it looks like Zaeed's on top of Garm, he's…He's hanging onto a knife! The thing is shoved up under his skull plate!"

"Must hurt." The Turian answered.

"That'll make one hell of a trophy!" The man stated over the comms.

"Who the hell are these people?" The woman finally asked.

"Doesn't matter. Tarak's group is all that's left. They've got the biggest presence on Omega, let's see where this goes." The Turian answered, keeping the people focused on the objective of gathering information.

"Gunship is in the air." The woman said moments later as she spotted the vehicle fly up into position above the window on the second floor. "Dropping off troops."

"I'm seeing weapons fire coming from inside the building; they're still applying heavy fire onto the Gunship." The Turian responded.

They all watched on for the remainder of the battle, silently appraising the situation as the fighters inside the building cut through the armor on the Gunship and finally put it down.

The scouts all watched in stunned silence as from the building, the man in N7 armor, the Cerberus operative, and Zaeed carried a wounded Turian from the building, small amounts of blue blood dripping from him.

"Archangel is down. Looks like they did manage to get him, lot of good it did them." The Turian said, breaking the silence.

"Everybody, break camp, we're moving out." A Turian voice announced through the communications channel, the reverberation and flanged vocals indicated as such, however it was higher in pitch if ever so slightly.

"Acknowledged."

"Heading to Rendezvous."

"Orders received."

The chorus of confirmations rang through the Omni-tool channel. The leader of the scouting party finally stood from the position on the roof of Archangel's hideout, taking only the slightest move to step over the broken bodies of the Eclipse infiltrators who'd tried to slip in from the rooftop. She silently watched as the three scouts emerged from their hiding spots and took to the back alleys and maintenance passages of Omega, each heading to an agreed upon location.

They'd wait at the meeting point. That was a given. These were skilled scouts, or at least, as skilled as scouts that could be obtained on Omega, especially now that the other mercenary gangs had lost their leadership, manpower, and territory dealing with Archangel and the Plague respectively.

As they reached the meeting point, the dim light of a maintenance lamp flickered in the dark, barely illuminating the small corridor as the scouts arrived. "I'll make the call."

"Yes, Captain."

The leader pressed a number of buttons on the Omni-tool for a few moments before the message was encrypted enough for transmission between the scouting party and their leaders.

"Report." Was the first order received once the line opened.

"Archangel has been critically injured. Tarak, Garm, and Jaroth are all dead, as well as the entirety of the forces they deployed." The leader announced over the communications channel.

"Good. Report back to base, we're moving out soon. Derius out." The gruff sounding Turian commanded before closing the channel.

"Let's move, we won't get a better chance than this." The leader commanded, throwing her hood back and withdrawing her rifle from the magnetic clamp on her back. The Phaeston combat rifle extended from its compact size, ready for use. Her hands fell into familiar positions along the weapon's grip and body.

"Yes Ma'am." They chorused as each member withdrew their personal firearms from the positions on their armor.

As they marched away, the maintenance lights revealed the crimson armor they all wore, the claw crest etched into their suits, the red downwards facing arrow clan crest on the female Turian's face, and the metal tags around her neck imprinted with the terms "Cabal Infantry: N. Kandros," on the illuminated side.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2,

"Necropolis"

Slipping in between the tightest passages leading from the Gozu district into the other gang's weakened territories; rifles were at the ready, thermal clips loaded, and fingers on the triggers.

She was tense as she stepped around corners, her torso pivoting to bring her rifle up and into position to scan the surroundings.

The first thing she noticed was the pile of burnt corpses. It wasn't that she couldn't tell they were there; the scent was thick in the air before she even saw the ashen bodies. She could see them piled up along the edges of the streets,

She'd heard the rumor that the area had been purged of the plague though it was clear that the other gangs had yet to try and recapture the territory, either from lack of manpower or from the fear that the plague would infect more soldiers.

"Keep your eyes open." Nyreen commanded as her small team stopped in the street.

"This place is a graveyard ma'am." The other Turian answered, though he took up a defensive position anyway, leading the way for the others to follow suit.

She examined the area. There were a number of scorch marks lining the ground, likely from the disintegrated remains of thermal clips. The oddity however wasn't the scorches. The area had been burned heavily by the mercenaries who'd tried to purge the infection; there wasn't anything unusual to find in the scorches. The oddity was the number of Blue Suns corpses.

"Why are there so many bodies?" Nyreen asked herself, earning a response from the others.

"Maybe some civilians fought back?" the human man hypothesized.

"Unlikely, the Suns have some serious casualties here." She answered, turning over the head of the nearest corpse she could find with the edge of her boot, revealing the white line rank crest. "This one's a centurion, and there's a tight grouping in his chest. Five rounds, all center of mass." She knelt down to examine the body further, beginning by checking the battery pack on the back of his torso.

"The shield battery is still good, still plenty of charge remaining. Any of you know what that means?"

The humans just shrugged, unsure of the meaning. The other Turian spoke up, knowing the answer from his species' mandatory service in the fleet. "Quick kill. His shield went down and never had a chance to recharge before he died. The lack of coordination set the rest of the squad up for a clean kill."

"Good. Now tell me, who do you think did this?"

"This level of skill isn't something you'll find on a civilian. Whoever did this was a trained soldier. And look here, boot prints in the ash." The Turian continued, kneeling to examine the markings. "Human, maybe Batarian, the footfalls look too light to be Krogan, and they don't match Turian, Salarian, or Krogan shape, and there's a set of tracks heading back out the same way."

"Whoever did this came in, and managed to get back out." The human woman reasoned.

"If it was the Blood Pack these kills wouldn't be this clean, they tend to favor heavy weapons. Assault shotguns and flamethrowers that kind of thing." The man continued. "Eclipse doesn't keep much territory; they're primarily focused on smuggling not setting up an extortion racket."

"Good, Derius did set me up with some smart scouts for once." Nyreen answered, impressed. "That means some third-party, paramilitary organization. Keep your eyes out for anything else. We'll set up the base camp further in."

She took point again, letting her biotic barrier stay up and ready for contacts. They delved deeper into the district turned necropolis. As they continued they found more bodies, some civilians who'd been executed and burned, others of mercenary troopers showing similar signs of elimination.

They next stopped at an intersection, one side heading towards the medical clinic and the other towards a set of apartments.

"Ma'am, Blood Pack casualties, Krogan bodies, and it looks like a lot of Vorcha parts scattered across the street." The Turian reported as he stepped over the body of a Krogan warrior.

"That explains the blood everywhere; stupid bastards should just use the reinforced tanks inside the gun instead of hauling around an entire depot on their backs and feeding the gun manually." The human man chuckled to himself as he took a knee and scanned the area for hostiles.

"Suns and Blood Pack corpses everywhere. Somebody get in the plaza upstairs and see if there's any more evidence up there." Nyreen commanded as she punched in the communications data into her Omni-tool. There was a moment of silence as the transmission linked before finally a Turian voice came through her Omni-tool.

"Nyreen, Status report."

"Gozu is a graveyard, sir. All the Blue Suns and Blood Pack troops are dead; somebody came through and cleaned it out already."

"Good, we'll start moving our enforcers in and set up an outpost as soon as you set up a beacon for us. Clear the area and make sure that crazy doctor stays out of Talon business. Derius out."

"We've got our orders. Anything upstairs?" She asked as she switched off her Omni-tool.

"Turian corpse. Blue Suns. Looks like he was killed in a similar manner to the others, looks like he was trying to give sniper cover to the other Suns when our third party got the jump on him." The female scout reported from the overlook.

"Leave the body. Let's keep moving." Nyreen said, as she gathered her team together before they moved down into the Clinic. They were greeted almost immediately by a Batarian refugee armed with an Avenger series assault rifle and flanked by a pair of LOKI mechs with similar armaments standing guard inside an alcove with a counter in front of them.

"I'd hope you don't plan to cause trouble inside the clinic or I'll be throwing your sorry ass out the nearest airlock." The rumbling baritone of the Batarian threatened as soon as he caught sight of the Talon crest on the quartet's armor.

"I don't take orders from-"The other Turian started to threaten, raising his rifle only slightly before Nyreen pushed his gun down.

"Keep your weapon down, we're not here to cause more collateral damage! We just need to go talk to their leader. Right?" She commanded, before turning the question towards the Batarian.

"Daniel is inside, you can go talk to him, but your guns stay here." He answered, nodding towards the three other thugs.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a moment. Don't do anything rash." She stated, removing her rifle and sidearm, sliding them to the Batarian standing behind the kiosk.

She stepped forward, leaving her comrades behind for the moment. The haptic interface on the door flashed green for a moment before sliding open to reveal a waiting room, large benches lining the sides of the room, on the interior a few dividers stood to separate the area into a few compartments. In the nearest compartment an unconscious human male was resting on a rolling gurney. Inside the next one, a trio of human refugees were resting as well; their heads leaned back against the nearest wall.

The most noticeable quality about the room was the sheer number of patients either sitting in wait with bandages covering their limbs, perhaps due to a lack of medi-gel, or sleeping on whatever surface was available. Gurneys, benches, even the floor sported various exiled people.

The air had the smell of an aerosolized disinfectant combined with the metallic scent of blood. Oddly though crowded the room was, it was still and quiet. A strange peacefulness for the most populated section of the district.

In the back of the room she could see a sign indicating other waiting rooms and makeshift sleeping quarters around the corner.

She stepped through, avoiding the inert forms of various races scattered on the floor as she headed for the nearest hallway. She took a left into the hall, and then peered around the corner into the two rooms inside the hall. On the left she could see a makeshift operating room, an unconscious Turian on the operating table, and a human stitching up a gash along the Turian's head crest. On the right, she could see a pair of humans sorting out crates of medical supplies with the aid of more LOKI mechs.

She stepped into the room as she asked the most obvious question. "Where can I find the doctor?" Startling one of the men into dropping the crate he was holding. The other just gave her a curt nod towards the room across the hallway before turning back to the supplies.

"Thank you." She answered, before turning on her heel and returning to look into the room across the hall.

The man working on the Turian finished the procedure a few minutes later, finally wrapping a gauze bandage around the unconscious male.

The doctor finally looked up from the procedure, pulling down his breathing mask and slipping off his gloves to let them soak in a small canister of disinfectant.

"Can I help you?" he asked his tone much more kind than what she'd received from the other workers.

"Are you the one in charge of the Clinic? I thought the leader was a Salarian." She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I am. Doctor Solus left recently, yesterday in fact. Why? Do you need medical attention or a place to sleep?" The man asked rather quickly, as he stepped over to clean up the operating station and push the patient's gurney towards the edge of the room.

"No Doctor, I'm fine. I'm only here to ensure that your clinic won't interfere with the Talons as we move into the district."

"I'm sorry ma'am but this is a medical center, not a military outpost. We couldn't interfere if we wanted to."

"I'd refrain from saying that to my employer. He likely wouldn't have bothered to handle this peacefully." Nyreen answered him. "I'll pass along the news that you'll stay out of the way, thank you for your time doctor."

"Thank you, the people of Omega need this clinic, if it gets shut down, I'd hate to think how many innocent people would die." Daniel returned back, offering to shake the female Turian's hand.

She didn't return the shake.

"I'll have my team leave you alone. Don't interfere with us and you won't have anything to worry about." She told him, before turning and taking a few steps away, stopping inside the doorway. "Oh, and keep your mechs in good repair. The Blue Suns may not take as kindly to your neutrality as we will." She said over her shoulder before walking through the door and back into the hallway.

She didn't waste any more time examining the conditions inside the clinic. She headed straight back to the exit and met up with her men, all of which fell in line and followed her back towards the intersection.

"The Clinic won't be a problem; Derius doesn't have anything to worry about in district 429. We'll plant a monitoring device upstairs and head back to HQ." She stated as her team followed her up the stairs to the overlook and began placing the necessary tech.

"ma'am, if I may ask, why didn't we just take the clinic. Those mechs aren't exactly good for anything but playing watchdog and I don't think the militia they have in there would be able to stop us." The human woman asked as she began adjustments on the sensor.

"It wouldn't have been worth it." Nyreen answered, though in her mind she couldn't decide if it was really that or that she didn't agree with shutting down the only medical institution in the area.

The team waited as the tech was set up and put in position before they formed up once more and walked out of the district, back towards the maintenance tunnels and back towards the Talons headquarters.

She watched her men go back into the Talons territory before she turned around and headed for the rendezvous with Derius.

* * *

He was waiting outside Afterlife, Aria's nightclub, and the de facto capital of Omega station.

"So, is everything ready?" The leader of the Talons gang asked.

"The sensors are in position, and there's no resistance in Gozu district. The clinic won't be a problem either, they're strictly neutral."

"You're sure?"

"Positive, they can't afford to get involved." Nyreen answered her employer.

"Good, your money is in your account, dismissed." Derius answered, turning his back on the woman and walking away to slink back into his hideout.

Nyreen stood there for a long moment, deciding what to do with the rest of the day. She had to admit that it'd been tiring. Camping out at Archangel's hideout on top of the scouting run to Gozu had eaten up a large portion of her time. Sleep would have to come soon.

However, Afterlife was right there. She could get some answers from Aria as to what was going on. Information was a good commodity to have, especially on as unforgiving a station as Omega.

"Tomorrow." She answered herself aloud, before turning and walking towards the hover-taxi stall on the left side from Afterlife's entrance.

She put in the coordinates in the automated machine, and let the vehicle take her most of the way towards the apartment before she got out and walked the remainder of the way.

* * *

The room she lived in was small, definitely a hovel compared to the places she'd seen on the Citadel or even back on Palaven. It was still better than most people could hold claim to on Omega, at least she had a place to call home.

Stepping inside she unhooked her weapons from the magnetic clamps of her armor, ejected the unused thermal clip from her rifle before mounting it on the wall next to her door, before taking the sidearm and laying it across the platform she used as a bed.

In the corner she could see the haptic display from her shower as well as the drain that would recycle the water back into the station's minimal sanitation system.

She took a second to activate her Omni-tool and activate the various routines to remove her armor, letting it open with a sharp hiss. Pressurized armor was a must in the mercenary trade, there was no telling when you'd be thrown into someplace with no atmosphere, and it paid to be prepared.

She slid off the thick crimson chest piece, letting the carapace like object drop with a dull thud onto the ground, followed quickly by her gauntlets, grieves and other armor plates before she removed her bodysuit too.

She needed to calm her mind. Too long spent on missions always gave her a headache, not to mention the long missions left her muscles sore. She let her mind drift empty as she stepped into the shower, letting the intense heat of the water relax her body. That was one thing she did enjoy about the apartment. Even though it was small and the bed was nothing more than a platform it certainly beat a sleeping tube and the shower wasn't horrible. The shower was made for Turians. It took a decent amount of heat to get through the metallic skin that Palaven's atmosphere gave to the Turian species and anything not made for a Turian would just be cold by comparison.

Steam quickly filled the sanitation pod, and soothed her muscles and senses with the simple repetition of heat and sound.

She stepped out and let the cold by comparison air chill her skin as she made a beeline for her bed, not bothering to redress.

The last thing she did that day was to tuck her sidearm underneath her pillow and click the safety into position.

_Just another day at the office, even I had to admit though; working for Derius had its perks. He always paid fairly well, though I made sure never to ask how he got the money and even though he was a ruthless son of a bitch when he wanted to be, he did at least take my word for its worth. I'd like to think Daniel's clinic wouldn't have survived if Derius didn't trust my judgment though that may just be my way of rationalizing that they needed help._


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Just a warning, this is a wall of text. Much of which is concerned with Shepard's background as well as a decent bit with Nyreen and Aria's personalities. I just feel I should mention that a lot of this is obvious to players of the game. Still, thanks for reading.

Chapter 3

"Queen"

The defunct mining station turned criminal hive had only one true capital, Afterlife. The title was an ill fit for the most prominent structure on the station. Afterlife was a nightclub situated on the inside of the station, its doors stood closest to the large docks commonly used for trade ships. This beneficial location made establishing "taxes" on the merchants a relative ease. This, combined with the series of tunnels and alleys that led to the building, helped to enforce the power of the pirate queen of Omega.

In reality, Aria's syndicate did not function as a true government. They were openly a criminal organization whose goals were capitalist in nature. Aria was not a simple kingpin though. She, unlike many of her predecessors, understood that to maintain control of Omega one must exhibit some scale of governance. Her enforcers established control of the station through the control of all its automated defenses on the exterior and the highest infantry count on the interior.

The achievement that cemented her rule of the station was her defeat of the Krogan warlord now known as Patriarch. In a battle worthy of song, Aria, an Asari warrior and powerful biotic engaged the Krogan in single combat. The massive reptilian biped Patriarch was a tough creature, as are all Krogan. His weapons overheated early in the battle, thermal clips long expended and rendering them useless. He met the Asari in hand-to-hand combat. Aria, an experienced commando who'd lived for centuries before she arrived on the station, was no simple enemy for the Krogan warrior.

Patriarch was a powerful warlord, his krant, or trusted warriors by human standards were strong, but Aria was clever, her mind quick and her reflexes similar. She had already claimed Afterlife as her base before engaging him; her forces had engaged his men in the streets. This was simply a pretext. When Aria shattered the Patriarch's body with biotic force in hand-to-hand combat, all authority on Omega fell to her.

Standing before the nightclub, it was easy to see that the building was as much a fortress as it was a center of entertainment. A Batarian, a large humanoid creature with four eyes and no hair, bodyguard stood at the door. On his arms he had a set of Enforcement Gauntlets, a powerful weapon synced to the Omni-tool that wound up a massive kinetic force into the fist capable of shattering a man's ribs through a suit of armor. In his hands he carried a military grade Avenger assault rifle.

Any nightclub that uses a soldier as a bouncer has more than just patrons to keep out and Nyreen knew from experience that a trio of similar bodyguards stood just inside the entrance.

She could see the line to the entrance was as long as it had ever been. The rare patron that was allowed into the club was typically given a long scan by the bouncers before receiving a rigid nod before being allowed to pass. Most likely with a warning of Omega's only rule.

VIPs received quite a different level of treatment from the common rabble. These special visitors were known by the bouncers personally. They'd receive no initial scan by the bouncers, but they'd be watched the entire time they were inside the club. Somewhere a hidden weapon would always be trained on them. It wasn't to be unexpected, Aria maintained control through an iron grip and if you were deemed special enough to be granted entry to Aria's domain there was a definite reason. Aria had a use for you or your reputation made it worthwhile to plant the rules of law personally.

Nyreen recalled well Aria's treatment of her "honored guests." If anything, Aria was brazen, and with good reason. There wasn't a force in the Terminus systems that could match her for power and influence. This kept away most enemies and she was certain to eliminate any who would think to match her.

As Nyreen made for the door to the club, she could see the bouncer's trigger finger drift ever so slightly before he caught a look at her face and stopped in his tracks, instead choosing to give her a slight nod before returning to his business in regulating the patrons.

The entryway to Afterlife was a tunnel of a hallway, the sides glowing with an almost enflamed glow, evocative of the ruthless spirit that the Queen of Omega carried. There were a few intoxicated patrons standing along the sides, swaying either from the alcoholic substances or the hallucinogenic drugs that flowed so readily in the club.

She breezed past them and into the club itself. Its center was dominated by a massive circular stage with a strobe cylinder at the core, casting the entire room in a myriad of shifting colors to match the fast paced music inside. On the stage, the patrons were gifted the sight of numerous Asari dancers, each dressed in a skin-tight bodysuit to emphasize the curves of their feminine appearance, though in reality the Asari species had no true gender but could reproduce with any humanoid though the result would always be another Asari. The dancers swayed and leaned on the stage, all in the efforts to give off the most sensual dance possible, to arouse the passions of the patrons. She could see in the various nooks of the club, patrons received private dances from the dancers and that was the modest terminology. In the lower levels of the club, Nyreen could recall the sight of a half-dressed Asari prostitute barely concealed behind a stairwell with her buyer, no doubt Aria's syndicate received a generous cut from her and any other paid suitors in the area.

Around the exterior of the room were various low tables, as well as a pair of bars on opposing sides of the room to distribute the various alcohols to the nightclub, though a special cask of Noverian rum stood specifically isolated for Aria's personal guests as well as her own use. In several good vantage points, Nyreen could see Aria's floor managers overseeing the room, all armed and armored for bear.

Aria's "throne" as it could be called was a couch located in an isolated booth situated up a minor set of stairs, the booth gave her an overlooking position of the entire club. On the stairs, Nyreen could see more of Aria's bodyguards. One she recognized as a former Turian mercenary known as Grizz, the other a Batarian known as Anto. Both of them were zealous followers of Aria, as far as she recalled. _Must have been promoted, they were just enforcers last time I was here._

Nyreen didn't bother to waste time with the club scene; it wouldn't sate her curiosity, nor her desire for martial prowess. She headed for the stairway, earning a quick glance from Anto before he stepped aside to let her pass. She stepped forward and up the stairs to stand before Aria's last bodyguards. The Batarian man pressed a few keys on his Omni-tool before the scanning software activated, projecting a linear field from the device, bathing Nyreen in the soft glow as it attempted to ascertain her genetic code.

"She's clean." The Batarian said, before stepping aside to let her come stand before Aria herself.

The Asari woman was unique for her species. Aria's skin was a light purple uncommon for her race, whose flesh commonly held a cobalt hue. Unlike many of her kind, Aria sported numerous tattoos as well, a stripe ran down the bottom of her lower lip towards her chest and a crescent covered the bridge between her eyebrows. Even more, Aria dressed differently, while many Asari wore a single bodysuit that covered their whole body, Aria wore a specially made suit; open slits crossed her chest horizontally, though much of her exposed flesh was covered by a white leather jacket, no doubt concealing a sidearm inside.

This was the Pirate Queen of Omega. Aria T'Loak. One of the most powerful biotics in the galaxy, and certainly the strongest person in the Terminus Systems.

"Aria."

"Nyreen, I thought your conscience got the best of you?" Aria asked first. Her edged voice already at work, echoing the ruthlessness for which she had already become known.

"I'm only here for information." Nyreen answered, trying to get straight to the point.

"You want information, well; it seems we have something in common after all." Aria answered, nodding towards the other side of the couch in a signal for the Turian woman to sit. Nyreen did so, before continuing.

"There's been some strange activity in the Kima and Gozu districts; can you tell me anything about it?" Nyreen asked first, trying to take charge of the situation.

"Strange, perhaps like a squad of Talon mercenaries moving through the districts?" Aria asked back, revealing her hand strategically.

"You've been keeping an eye on me? Oh Aria, I never knew you cared." It was a joke, a brief step away from her usual business-like tone, a gamble. And one that played well towards the Queen's tastes evident in the chuckle she gave out.

"The Talons know the rules, but only a fool trusts the enemy to play fair." Aria answered back.

"Still, you have to know what I'm referring to. Archangel's hideout in the Kima district, someone showed up and tried to save him, a professional, with ties to the Alliance and Cerberus."

Aria didn't flinch at the mention of the two human organizations, even with their lack of welcome in the Terminus systems. "See something you liked while you were watching the fireworks show?" Aria asked back, before she continued. "His name is Commander Shepard. Ring any bells?"

A moment of silence passed while Nyreen tried to remember the name. It was unfamiliar, but not completely unknown. Finally, Aria answered the question for her.

"He's the only human Spectre."

"What's a Spectre doing on Omega?" Nyreen asked next, her surprise hidden only by the slight click of her mandibles.

"Recruiting. He asked about Doctor Solus and Archangel. Zaeed Masani cashed in a bounty here before going with him too. He's been a good little boy while here. I can see why so many power players like to deal with him; he makes such a good lapdog." Aria answered, voicing her opinion bluntly.

"Do you have any other information?" Nyreen asked, her curiosity piqued even further.

"Nothing of importance just a dossier on him, dropped off by a friend of his, for all the good it did. It doesn't take much to figure out his type. You two would probably get along well. Always so concerned with doing the right thing instead of the smart thing." Aria answered before snapping her fingers to signal one of her guards to retrieve a data pad with the information on it.

"Thank you, Aria." Nyreen answered before standing to take her leave.

"Remember Kandros, this is just for Liselle, not for you. Don't get any bright ideas, especially if you keep working for that fool Derius." Aria said, dangling the threat.

"Of course." _I'll have to thank her sometime_. Nyreen thought as Aria mentioned her daughter before she answered, turning and walking away to head for the markets where she could ponder the new information.

_Glad to hear Liselle doesn't hate me after what happened between Aria and I. _Nyreen thought as she stepped through the doors to the markets hidden just up the street from Afterlife. Aria's daughter was much kinder than her mother, and while yes, Liselle did work for her mother, she wasn't entirely cut from the same cloth as Aria.

As she stepped into the markets, Nyreen was greeted by the curious sight of the Quarian mechanic missing from his shop; _poor kid must have finally gotten enough credits leave. _She'd given him a couple hundred credits the last time she'd shopped at his stand. He was nothing more than a young man, stranded on a very dangerous station. It was a hopeful sight to see that he'd finally managed to leave, probably having paid for a ride on an element zero fuel freighter leaving the station. The mines deep in the station were perfect for harvesting the starship fuel that powered the galaxy's trade and transportation. It constituted the majority of the interplanetary trade the station received.

She rounded the corner and was surprised to see a noticeable lack of Vorcha in the alleyways. The vicious humanoid creatures were a nuisance at best. They reproduced quickly, they were difficult to kill, and they were a naturally violent species. Aria's gang maintained control of the pests, but even then a few would get out of line and require proper neutralization.

Nyreen rounded the corner into the shopping intersection before stepping up a small set of stairs and into the only restaurant in the area. Behind the counter she could see a Batarian currently running the small counter, a cloud of steam rising from a kettle in front of him. She paid him no mind, she wasn't here for food. She just needed a place to go through the data-file.

_Now, let's see what we've got on this Spectre._

* * *

Date of Birth: April 11, 2154. No initial Element Zero contamination detected at birth.

Commander John Shepard is born to parents Hannah and Lee Shepard, both enlisted members of the Alliance Navy. Hannah Shepard, a low-ranking officer in the Navy, was a native of Toronto, Ontario. Lee Shepard, a fighter pilot, was a native to Taishan, China and young veteran of the First Contact War with the Turians. The couple likely met during deployment on the SSV Einstein.

Records indicate the couple married less than a year prior to the birth of John Shepard. The couple remained legally married despite separation on different ships.

John Shepard was raised as any spacer child is, aboard Navy ships. Shepard scored decent grading during his mandatory education and enlisted with the Alliance Navy at the age of eighteen as a marine in 2172. One year previously, Shepard was detected to have a biotic inclination brought about by secondary exposure to Element Zero, likely from a faulty Eezo reactor aboard the SSV Geneva in 2168. The closing of BAaT earlier that same year forces the Alliance to formalize biotic training using the gathered information from BAaT and available biotic information from the Asari.

The resulting combination allows the training of more capable shock troopers and specialists with biotic abilities given the codenames Vanguard, Sentinel, and Adept. These soldiers are all outfitted with L3 implants consisting of a cerebral controller chip and a wrist mounted biotic amplifier. John Shepard receives L3 implants during basic training but does not show extensive use of biotics in combat scenarios.

In 2176, four years into Shepard's military career, the Batarian funded Skyllian Blitz occurs over the planet Elysium. John Shepard, who was on leave planet side, rallied the civilian population into a small militia led by the few Alliance soldiers who were present. While Shepard led the ground defense, the SSV Agincourt devastated the pirate fleet overhead.

Records indicate that while the naval engagement was a decidedly one sided victory for the Alliance, the ground engagement was far more vicious. The undermanned colony was stretched too thin to hold out indefinitely and after several hours of intense fighting, the colony's defenses were breached. In a testament to human bravery and tenacity, Shepard took position at the breach and held the line single-handedly until reinforcements arrived to relieve the defenders. These actions earned Shepard the Star of Terra, a prestigious decoration that personifies the wearer as a hero and paragon of humanity.

In 2178, the Alliance sends retaliation for the Skyllian Blitz in the form of a raid on the criminal outpost on the moon of Torfan. Shepard is a member of the ground teams to assault the pirate stronghold. He serves under the leadership of Major Kyle. The fighting on the moon was fierce and caused the deaths of numerous Alliance marines and special operatives. Kyle's unit specifically suffers heavy casualties but manages to capture the stronghold.

In years between 2178 and 2183, John Shepard takes multiple training sessions at the Interplanetary Combative Academy on Villa Militar in Rio de Janeiro. The level of competence and extensive combat leadership skill earn him the coveted N6 designation. Upon completion of training, he is given the N7 designation for his completion of training in an "admirable and effective fashion." This level of training certifies Shepard as an elite soldier and officer. The completion of training coupled with his extensive combat experience earns Shepard the rank of Commander.

In 2183, The Turian Hierarchy and Earth Systems Alliance co-operate on the construction of an experimental stealth frigate. The resulting ship is christened the SSV Normandy and captained by David Anderson, a decorated member of the N7 program, who appoints Shepard as his Executive Officer.

The ship's first mission resulted in a failure. The colony of Eden Prime, on which the ship was to retrieve an advance artifact from the ancient Prothean Empire, was effectively destroyed along with the artifact. The Turian Spectre, Nihlus Kryik, assigned to oversee the operation was killed.

This sparked the intergalactic manhunt for the one responsible for the destruction of Eden Prime, another Turian Spectre, Saren Arterius and his geth followers. The Council granted Shepard Spectre status under orders to track down the rogue agent Saren.

The following year shows many reports indicating the Shepard engaged in multiple excursions across the galaxy. The most notable of which were on Noveria, Feros, Virmire, and Ilos. Commander Shepard is credited with the recovery of numerous artifacts for both the Citadel Council and Systems Alliance. These range from the recorded texts of Asari Matriarchs, a collection of Salarian League of One medallions, the compilation of Turian clan crests, and a number of mineral and gaseous resource deposits for the Alliance. Major Kyle's treatment for psychological damage was instigated by Commander Shepard as well.

John Shepard is recorded as being the primary cause for the survival of the Citadel Council during the Battle of the Citadel when Geth forces infiltrated the capitol station of the galaxy. Shepard is noted as having given the order for the Alliance fleets to engage Geth ships in order to relieve the Destiny Ascension flagship of the citadel fleet. This order sacrificed a large portion of the human fleet, yet secured humanity a position on the Citadel Council.

Shepard was recorded as having been killed in Action late 2183 due to being spaced when ambushed by unknown assailants. This ambush resulted in the death of twenty crew members and the destruction of the Normandy SR-1.

Known Associates: Kaidan Alenko, Ashley Williams (KIA), Liara T'Soni, Garrus Vakarian, Urdnot Wrex, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Jeff Moreau, Karin Chakwas, Greg Adams, David Anderson, Steven Hackett, Donnel Undina, Captain Kirrahe, Gianna Parasinni, Emily Wong, Maeko Matsuo, Barla Von

* * *

_Spirits_. That was the only thought that could grasp the scope of the information she'd just read. The information was astounding simply in terms of volume, let alone content. Commander Shepard had led a career that would put most career Turian soldiers to shame.

It seemed that wherever this man went, things got done. That was a quality that any soldier could do well with. Mercenaries were prized for their skill in getting results, and Commander Shepard seemed to get results. Even worse though, he didn't just get results. He got the best results. Things went perfectly around him, at least, in Nyreen's eyes.

She remembered how bad soldiers could get. Some of them grew cold and ruthless. Others could rationalize away their concept of collateral damage and casualties. It was reassuring to see that some soldiers didn't give way under the pressure.

_So this is who's been so busy in the districts. Aria will be keeping an eye on him for sure. _

She was awoken from her contemplations by the dull rumble of a Batarian clearing his throat.

"Shop's closed. Go away." The cook said as he wiped down the counter.

She stood up and walked away, unsure of just how much time she'd actually spent reading through and trying to comprehend the nature of the information. She only vaguely remembered the trip until she was at her apartment door. As she walked in she completed her full repetition of dismantling her armor before lying down on the bed, tucking her sidearm away.

Though she tried to sleep, her mind wandered for some time before the overwhelming need for mental peace forced her body to shut down for the day.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Hey everyone, thanks for the patience in waiting for this chapter to upload, it's been a long time since I've updated any stories but such is life. This one took a long time to write and get to a point where I felt like adding it. The original idea for Chapter 4 I scrapped due to it's lack of real importance to the story. To answer the question, yes, this is a MShepard/Nyreen fic, but it's following Nyreen for the majority of the story. We all know what Shepard's story is, but this is one we do not know fully. Now, without further wasting your time, enjoy.

Chapter 4:

Ghost-Ship

The life of a mercenary was often plagued by a distinct lack of morality. It wasn't necessarily true that all mercenaries were good or evil in morality, but they were soldiers who fought for money, often literally to the highest bidder. The lack of direct loyalty and responsibility for one's actions often created trouble when they were utilized by anyone with political authority or accountability.

In these scenarios private military contractors were typically acquired through larger corporations such as the Elanus Risk Control Services. The contractors in the Terminus Systems typically didn't have a need for subtlety. The Blue Suns were known for a degree of professional skill, the Eclipse for technical superiority, and the Blood Pack for sheer brutality. These organizations were popular in the Terminus Systems, but none of them were particularly welcome in Citadel Space, or Systems Alliance territory.

This lack of diversity among the mercenary companies allowed a niche for the freelancers to operate. These mercenaries typically worked alone or if in conjunction with one another, only at the behest of their employer.

It was as a freelancer that Nyreen found contracts. While in a technical sense she was on the payroll of the Talons, she wasn't actually a member of that organization. She was simply a frequent hire of Derius' and not bound by their practices or needs outside the individual contract.

This was a particular boon for her when she received contracts from Aria's gang. They tended to air on the violent or morally reprehensible side, but they carried better pay than any other, and although she'd never agree to the goals or methods Aria maintained, she could still concede that Aria stabilized the Omega Nebula, and maintained one of the necessary trading hubs for the Terminus Systems.

It was from Aria that she had received her current contract after spending the majority of the next six months following the scouting job living on the pay from small jobs running security for merchants or mapping the tunnels through the slums for Derius. In all she'd been moving most of that time, jumping from off-station jobs for some time. After that however, Nyreen's path always lead back to Omega, and the life she'd maintained there.

* * *

"The target vessel looks to be a frigate. Human design. Ship's showing no records, didn't hail the station, and looks to be running on low energy. This thing's a ghost, and Aria doesn't like ghosts in her territory." The Batarian pilot explained as he aligned the Kodiak class assault shuttle towards the Mass Relay and the ship hiding nearby.

The rear of the ship was designed to fit a dozen armed soldiers at maximum load though at significant discomfort to the occupants. It was fortunate that the ship only comprised two armed individuals in the crew compartment.

Nyreen slapped a thermal clip into her Phaeston rifle, feeling the click as the weathered old weapon's internal components locked the cooling packet into position. It was a familiar sensation, something she could do purely from tactile skill, ingrained in her senses through the intense repetition of the Turian Hierarchy's training and the subsequent combat service she'd performed.

The weapon was fully loaded and ready for use as she let it rest in position on her lap. Along her waist, a trio of grenades sat ready, their soft purple insignia giving away their biotic nature.

She could see her "partner" for the mission was readying her equipment as well. The other woman was an Asari, her blue skin and scalp tendrils giving away as much instantaneously. The more difficult thing to establish was her occupation. One couldn't establish much from an Asari's choice of combat attire. They typically fielded light-weight armor capable of maintain a Biotic Barrier. She could spend time analyzing the situation and establishing the identity of her comrade through observation, but the simpler method was to ask.

She analyzed the weapon sitting on her comrade's lap in an effort to create a starting point. The weapon was sleek, bearing a smooth white stock and a deep purple body. It was shorter than a rifle, though only by a small degree. Only the end, she could see the marks of a modified choke. A shotgun, an Asari shotgun? That was somewhere to start.

"Interesting shotgun, Commando?" Nyreen started, allowing the other woman to answer at her own volition.

"Perhaps, Disciple model, good concussion. And what about you, Navy?" The Asari answered, her voice short, concise, but no less melodious.

"Former-Cabal Infantry, Nyreen Kandros. Who are you?" She replied, electing to give information before receiving it.

The woman gave a short hum before answering. "My name is Aleena, Former-Commando, it is good to know you're a qualified soldier, I'd rather not have a green-as-grass rookie watching my back." She responded, leaning back to rest her head on her folded arms.

As they finished introductions the Batarian pilot signaled them. "Sixty-Seconds get your helmets on and armor sealed. You'll infiltrate the ship, clear it of crew, and contact me from the bridge once you're ready for pickup. Jobs on you now." He announced, pulling up near the port side of the unidentified frigate.

The hatch on the side of the shuttle unclamped, venting the pressure from the cabin and allowing the duo to step out and attack grappling tethers to the unknown ship. The tethers anchored them long enough for the pair to attach an explosive packet to the outside of the escape pod's hatch.

They hung low on the tethers as the explosion pushed inwards on the ship, rending metal out of their way. Quickly the duo climbed over the wrecked portion of the hull and into the enemy ship.

"Cover me." The Asari commanded, patching her words through Nyreen's Omni-tool frequency as she knelt next to the door panel, hacking its systems to initiate a door override.

Nyreen complied with the command, hoisting her rifle and covering the doorway for when it inevitably opened a few moments later.

The door opened with a hiss as the atmosphere inside vented for a moment before the pair could slip in and reseal the door behind them.

The room was empty, giving Nyreen an unsettling feeling. Anyone alive on board the ship would have heard them coming from the explosion that announced their entry, or at the very least sensors should have picked up the shuttle coming.

"Clear." She answered through the quiet, signaling her comrade to move up in into the room. There was a tangible aura of something being amiss. Emergency lighting was on, illuminating the corridor with only a small degree of the possible luminescence. Overhead lighting was down, she could see the individual lighting units dark in their pods. Along the floor, she could see the small golden lights signaling the pathways along the inside of the ship.

"We'll sweep the engineering deck and move our way forward to the bridge." Aleena said, turning to head towards the rear of the ship. Nyreen followed behind her, back to her comrade and weapon trained on the far end of the hallway.

The discomforting feeling became more prominent as they moved. The ship itself was silent, completely so, whereas a normal frigate should have been filled with the hum of the ship's Element Zero reactor and the sound of the crew performing their assigned duties. What they found was that the ship made no noise at all.

Their journey was short, being the smallest size of combat ship; frigates could operate with a small crew in comparison to cruisers, dreadnoughts or carriers. That meant there was little need for excessive room in the ships for crew or redundant control systems. They reached the Engineering sub-deck after only five-minutes from their entry. In that time they found nothing. No sign of the crew at all.

They posted near the door to the reactor control station, both of them placing themselves along the wall near the doorway. They stepped through in tandem, weapons at the ready. Inside, they found no sign of the crew. No engineers managing the power flow, or anything of the nature.

"I'll check the chief engineer's logs. Keep your eyes peeled for anything, this place has tragedy written all over it." Aleena commanded, stepping up to the console at the head of the drive core.

A minute passed as Nyreen covered the room. She couldn't hear anything save for the dull hum given off by the drive. Finally, when the oppressive silence seemed maddening, Aleena let out an annoyed sigh.

"The damn logs were wiped. There's no records left on here, the only thing I've got is that the drive was manually locked down two hours after the ship jumped into the system. There're no records on the engineering staff. No names, ranks, or anything." She said, stepping away from the console.

They duo gripped their weapons with alarm as the sound of metal tinkling together alerted them. They scanned the room, weapons raised and in position to riddle any targets that presented themselves with the aeration only multiple shards of metal launched at mass effect altered speed.

"What the hell was that?"Aleena asked, standing still and trigger at the ready.

Nyreen took a knee, and peered through the cracks between the gratings, showing the piping leading towards the reactor. The darkness below the floor was deeply shadowed, bearing only the minimal lighting necessary.

She could only barely make out the shape of a human male wearing black, gold, and white naval fatigues, the skin tight suit sported a small golden insignia along the black chest-piece, some form of hexagonal shape. The more prominent detail was the large pool of blood leaking from the corpse.

"Spirits, I think I found an engineer, dead in the emergency passageways." Nyreen said as soon as she comprehended the image.

"Cause of death?" Aleena asked, moving towards the doorway back to the majority of the ship.

"Can't tell from here, we'll check it out before we continue. Cover me." Nyreen said, before summoning her control of biotics from Cabal training to phase her body through the thin grating, arriving rifle ready on the platform below.

"I can't cover you if you're just going to go through the fucking floors!" Aleena shouted to her, as she jumped over the railing to land next to the Turian woman.

"Hmm." Nyreen answered, though it could easily have been her pondering the body in front of her. She rummaged over the corpse, dragging the body up slightly so she could see the exit wounds.

"Projectile wounds, went straight through the soft tissue. " She explained as she examined the body.

"Fine, just one less loose end to tie up, we should continue on through the duct until the next outlet, and then we can secure the rest of the ship." Aleena said, taking the lead.

Nyreen followed, though the unease still remained heavy in her.

They were greeted once more by the eerie silence.

When they exited the emergency passage, they were in the medical bay. No sign of crew again, however more disconcerting was the lack of bodies to match the blood splattered all across the room.

"What the hell happened in here…?" Nyreen said in a hushed tone, coming to look over the room.

"Looks like a slaughter at that." Aleena commented, coming to examine the drying bodily fluid that coated the majority of the room. Along the floor, they could see the distinctive signs of feet being drug along the ground, leaving no distinct footprints.

"Well whoever did this definitely got out with the bodies, we'll keep moving, eyes peeled, seems like somebody got the best of these poor bastards." Nyreen answered, taking the lead.

As they exited the med bay, they were greeted by the sound of sliding going along the metal floor plating. They both stopped and raised their weapons again, neither of them making a sound as the scraping noise approached.

They finally saw the source of the noise as a strange creature, looking like a blue tinged biped with large bulbous sacs protruding from its upper body and a pair of electrically glowing eyes. Its mouth featured a tube protruding from the front and extending towards the center of its chest. The creature examined them for a short moment before raising its right arm and firing a bolt of energy towards them.

"What the fuck is that thing!?" Aleena shouted, opening fire with her shotgun.

"I have no idea, but it looks like the culprit for the missing crew!" Nyreen answered, as she triggered an orb of biotic energy to protect them, blocking the blast from the creature's arm. "Kill it, I've got us covered!"

Aleena didn't acknowledge the words verbally, instead letting the blue aura that surrounded her answer, after the biotic shield came up, she launched a ball of warping biotic energy that collided with the strange creature, and began breaking down its armored metallic flesh at the molecular level. The creature didn't acknowledge pain, and the warp field dissipated before the armor fully decayed.

The follow-up "push" ball of biotic energy punched into the creature's thick metallic skin and detonated the residual biotic field left from the warp ball ripping the creature apart in a tempest of fluctuating gravity fields.

The beast's limbs fell apart from its torso, leaving a greasy blue substance akin to blood it its wake, the horrifying thing was that the creature maintained movement even after its limbs were torn from the body, only halting completely after receiving a blast from Aleena's shotgun, rendering it an inert pile of gore on the ground.

Even after the strange organism was clearly dead, Aleena continued pumping shots into the corpse.

"What. The. Fuck. Is. This. Thing!"

"I don't know. See if we can find records on the bridge." Nyreen answered, taking the lead.

The ship itself returned to the eerie silence it maintained before the firefight. The only sounds emanated from the step of their boots on the metal floor plates.

"That can't be the only thing on this ship. The crew should have been able to handle something like that." Aleena said, letting the unease be verbalized.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Silence continued to plague the ship, even when they ascended to the command deck of the ship, silence followed them.

Their Omni-tools marked their passage, documenting the path they'd taken through the ship, pulling up a blueprint of the ship gathered from the data they'd accessed so far in moving.

They could see the navigations station and the galaxy map both glowing with secondary power. Clearly the ship had been designed to maintain some level of movement even on emergency power; though the idea of sending it through a Mass Relay seemed unlikely on the minimal powers the systems were receiving.

"Check the navigations data, see if there's anything that hasn't been wiped on it." Nyreen said, "I'm going to see if I can find anything in the ship's armory."

"Keep me posted; I don't want one of those things getting the jump on us." Aleena answered as she got to work on the navigation's console.

Nyreen took a step around the corner, entering the armory, as labeled on the haptic display to the door. The door opened with a slight metallic whine, revealing the ship's armory to be as much of a bloodbath as the med bay.

The only difference was the presence of corpses.

"Spirits…" Nyreen exclaimed, seeing the bodies torn to pieces. A few remained intact but it was evident that there were numerous that had been left in some form of evisceration.

"Aleena, I think I found the security team. " She responded over her shoulder through the open door. She took a tentative step, not thrilled at the prospect of entering a room filled with corpses.

The first marines were wearing a modified suit of combat armor. As opposed to traditional ballistic plates coupled with a shield emitter, she could see that the armor instead was made of a number of ballistic plates, primarily in a white, black, and gold color scheme that matched the ship. It appeared he'd been holding a submachine gun in his hands on death. Its body consisted of a heavy duty plastic frame with a fore grip attached to the end of the lower receiver.

Weapons of the same model were scattered across the room, some with visible thermal clips. "Must have been killed before getting fully prepared. Quick deaths." The next body was intact, though the armor sported several holes with dried blood trailing from them. The helmet from the armor had been caved in, likely from a high velocity impact.

The man inside, if that could be called it, was looking more machine than man. His eyes were glowing circuits, and a blue glowing tint flowed from them, highlighting the sensory neurons.

"Whole ship's a walking disaster it seems." Nyreen said to herself, scanning the room for anything useful. The weaponry scattered throughout the room appeared to be ineffective in combating the creature that slaughtered the ship, if the bodies were any indication.

She left the armory, instead heading towards the Science bay in the room nearest the armory, "Checking the science bay, armory is a graveyard." Nyreen reported through her Omni-tools communication system.

"The navigation logs don't seem to report an origin either, the only thing mentioned is a ship called the Elbrus, Cerberus Cruiser it seems."

"Download anything you can get on that ship...Aleena, You're going to need to see this…" Nyreen reported as she entered the lab.

The room was dominated by a number of stasis pods, most of which showed signs of breach, while the last along the line was occupied by one of the creatures from earlier. It showed no signs of consciousness, and the console nearest it assigned the subject as being "deceased."

"Those things were being hauled here?" Aleena asked, taking the chance to access the lab records.

"It appears so, let's get the data, check the bridge, and get out of here." Nyreen answered, waiting just long enough for Aleena to access the records.

"Looks like the subject is something called an Adjutant. The data here is about an experiment titled "Pariah." Looks like the scientists here were looking to establish a control system on these creatures. Didn't work out well for them." Aleena summed up, reading through the data as she accessed it. A moment passed as Aleena accessed more of the specific data on the creatures before issuing a gasp.

"These things. They're all by-products of an infection. The Adjutants spread the infection and mutate others genetic code into more of them. The logs state "Subjects exposed to Adjutant infection show no signs of recovery through standard methods. The infection spreads rapidly and is only stopped by removal of the subject's Central Nervous System. Once infected, there is no saving the new host." This thing is an abomination! The crew must have gotten infected!"

"What about the security team?"

"There's an addendum here, subjects that have been indoctrinated and outfitted with Reaper tech control systems show no signs of infection. Reaper tech shows incompatibility with other Reaper tech."

A harsh metal clang emanated from outside the room, and the two mercenaries could hear the sound of thudding onto the floor immediately afterwards.

"Damn it, take whatever data you can, we need to hurry up and get out of here. I think they're done hiding." Nyreen announced, raising her rifle to cover the door leading back to the command deck.

"Got it. Let's move." Aleena answered a second later, her Omni-tool fading out on her arm.

The duo backtracked through the armory in an attempt to circumvent the most likely choke point. They couldn't afford to get trapped in a narrow area, not with the likelihood of being surrounded by greater numbers.

As they entered the command deck, shots fired immediately. The Adjutants engaged on sight, attempting to subdue the mercenaries. The duo opened fire on them in return, but were met with trouble when more of them just crawled through the hole they'd ripped in the floor plating.

"Damn it, the flight recorder's a no-go; we'll just get trapped on that end. Fall back to the Shuttle bay; we'll signal a pickup there." Aleena instructed, blasting away with her shotgun at the mass of mutated organisms.

"Copy that. Signaling the pickup." Nyreen answered, steeling her nerves as she hit a button on her Omni-tool, opening a communication with their shuttle.

"We need immediate extraction, we're retreating to the small ship bay at the base of the ship, meet us there. We'll drop the signal beacon as soon as we get in." Nyreen said, speaking rapidly through the comms channel.

"On the way." The Batarian pilot responded, before closing the channel.

Nyreen maintained fire as the pair backed away from the growing horde, making the way to the stairwell and the base of the ship.

A quick "lift" grenade bought the duo a moment of time to make a run for it. The biotic field of altered gravity slowing down the creatures for a short time, though not nearly long enough for the duo's tastes.

As they reached the bay, they could see the majority of it had been cleared. On the sides they could see crates of supplies and scientific tools, and at the rear they could see that the Cerberus forces had come prepared for an engagement. An A-61 Mantis gunship, etched in the same color scheme as the rest of the ship's pattern, sat parked near the end of the room, near the bay's large hangar door. No mounted weapons attachments hooked onto the underbelly of the assault vehicle.

"We're opening the door, Get us out of here. " Nyreen reported through the comms channel, hoping that their pilot could pick up the signal emitting from the duo's Omni-tools.

They had to turn their backs on the bay door as it slowly wound open, sucking the atmosphere through the room. All the equipment in the room remained stationary, no doubt thanks to mag-locks on the ground to keep them attached. Similar to the type aligned on the mercenary's boots, keeping them both upright as the room vented.

The Adjutants came out in a pack, upwards of a dozen of the creatures striding through the gunfire aimed at them, rounds punching into their metallic flesh.

One would fall, and quickly be sucked clear through the room to the bay door, venting its corpse into the cold recesses of space.

"Coming in for pick-up, move your ass!" The Batarian pilot signaled through their communications channel, triggering the duo to both fall back further towards the open hangar. "Shit!" They both heard come from the comms channel before looking to see what caused the expletive.

"Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, He's going down!" Aleena shouted, though the words came through the channel in Nyreen's helmet. Ducking behind a supply crate, she could see the situation grow dire. The shuttle was buckling; an Adjutant had been vacuumed out of the hangar only to manage to grab ahold of the shuttle, where it was forcing its way into the cockpit.

The shuttle buckled for a few seconds before the thrusters engaged to full, smashing the vehicle into the side of the frigate's hull in what would have been a fiery explosion, had they not been in the vacuum of space.

"Damnit! Get in that Gunship, we're on our own!" Aleena commanded, rushing across the room to get into the vehicle. Nyreen followed close behind, taking a position on the boarding ramp, laying down suppressive fire on the advance mass of Adjutants.

"Go, Go, Go!" Nyreen responded, signaling her comrade to lift off the ship.

"Mag-locks disengaged, hang on!" Aleena answered, engaging the ship's engines and lifting off with a pronounced jerk before turning the ship and firing the thrusters away, catapulting them as far from the ghost-ship as they could get.

Nyreen closed the boarding ramp as soon as they were clear of the ship, sealing the duo in the vessel with a hiss as the artificial atmosphere kicked into action. After a moment for the air to distribute, Nyreen unsealed her helmet with a similar hissing noise before letting it fall into position on the crew seat at the back of the vessel.

"You alive back there?" Aleena shouted from the pilot's seat.

"Yeah…Yeah, I'm good." Nyreen answered, taking a seat in the rear of the ship. "Get us to Afterlife, Aria needs to hear about this." She answered, leaning her back against the hard metal of the metal wall separating the cockpit from the cramped compartment at the rear of the gunship.

The duo didn't say anything else for the majority of the ride to Omega station, only when they arrived to see a small battle going on overhead of Omega did they speak again.

"Omega…Is under attack?"


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note:

I do feel that I owe you all an explanation for the hit to my timeline recently, that being the notorious YLOD. The Yellow Light of Death on the PS3 is the equivalent of the Xbox360's Red Ring of Death. Unfortunately, I use gameplay to inspire chapters but to also maintain the in-universe cohesion between my story and the games. Unfortunately, having to replace such an expensive piece of equipment takes time, and money. Thankfully, the replacement has been made and I'm working towards replacing all my lost save data. The stories can continue on, but it may be a short time before I'll have the stories edited and continuity checked. The setback is unfortunate and I thank all my readers for the patience they have shown. That being said, I can make no guarantees for faster uploads. I have a lot of recovery to do, mainly for the FFT story which while most likely receiving less views than this story, is still my first and foremost concern. I have no intention of declaring a hiatus on either story and will be working to resolve this with as much free time as I can muster.

So sorry but all I can give is a very rough and short chapter to appease you all. It's not action heavy, it's not perfect, but it's a bridging chapter and something to chew on while I work at recovering my things.

Now, about the story. I need to say that I have not read the Mass Effect novels and therefore all my knowledge of them is second-hand. I'm aware of names, and locations but not the true sequence of the fall of Omega. You have been informed. If my story differentiates in some respects, do enlighten me, but be aware that I have incomplete knowledge of the lore to begin with. If it takes place in the games, I have full access to the data.

That bit out of the way, time to get to the actual story.

* * *

Chapter 5:

Underground.

Omega was as much a fortress as it was a hive for the criminal elite of the Terminus system and the galaxy at large. The exterior hull decks that covered the entire station had numerous weapon platforms to prevent possible invasion. All of them built after the station had been abandoned as a legitimate mining complex and instead became a pirate capital.

The numerous auto-firing mass driver cannons, surface-to-air disruptor torpedo launchers, and conventional anti-infantry weapons made Omega a difficult endeavor to assault. Surface bombardment would be largely ineffective at pacifying the station, and landing troops for a ground assault was far more dangerous considering assault shuttles were often easy targets for manually activated weapons, and required great skill to avoid automated defenses. Suicide by Omega was a common way out for the downtrodden of the Terminus System, a grim testament to the ruthless efficiency of Aria's station.

Nyreen knew better than most what happened on Omega. A change of leadership on Omega was rarely the result of outside invasion.

It was this knowledge that raised the most questions for the mercenaries on the commandeered gunship.

"I'm taking the comms; Aria needs to know we're out here." Nyreen stated, already tuning to Aria's personal channel and sending the communication. It didn't take long for the answer to come through.

"Kandros!" Aria's voice filtered through a clash of weapons fire, whatever was happening on Omega had Aria actively engaged. She sounded displeased to say the least.

"What the hell is going on?!" Nyreen shouted through the open line, unsure if Aria could hear her over the dull thump of automatic weapon's using micro-mass effect fields to propel munitions at excessive speeds.

The response returned after a moment of ambient noise, a sharp growl, no doubt from Aria expending biotic power.

"Adjutants hijacked Cerberus ships beyond the Omega-4 relay, are you on your way in now?" She barked through the communication's channel, followed by the resounding clang of a thermal clip ejecting.

"Aleena and I are coming through in a stolen gunship, our shuttle was compromised. Where can we meet you?"

The resounding sound of gunfire dimmed slightly, followed by a deep sigh of exhaustion.

"Send me the ship's ID; I'll have Anto make sure the weapons avoid you. Be careful up there, don't get near those things." Aria stated before shutting the line down.

"I'll send her the code; put us in as close to Afterlife as possible but stay clear of anything that's taking fire." Nyreen stated bluntly to Aleena. Although neither held true superiority over the other, cooperation had kept them alive so far, and if Omega was any indication, it'd likely be a good idea to stick together until answers could be found.

Above the station, several large freight ships could be seen attempting to land, most of them taking weapons fire from the station's automated defenses. It didn't take much thought to realize which ships were hostile. The advantage however lay in the fact that the ships were not especially numerous.

The gunship made a straight shot for the nearest landing platform, avoiding the firefight about Omega as much as possible. As the atmospheric envelope took hold of them, the ship gave a shudder, moving from the vacuum of space to the artificial life of Omega.

* * *

The landing pad nearest Afterlife sported little more than a platform and a fueling valve. Infrastructure on Omega at its finest.

The duo didn't take much time after exiting the ship before they were rushing through the many maintenance paths between the districts in a bid to reach Afterlife. The could see the poor, homeless, and sometimes insane residents of the station's worst terrain, however the residents thinned considerably as they drew nearer to the nightclub that housed Aria's syndicate. The more alarming factor however, was the number of corpses they found upon reaching the opening that housed Afterlife's back door. Various races, ranging from Salarian to Batarian, lay piled in a great heap next to the door, burning and quite visibly headless.

Entering through the club's rear entrance did little to dispel the notion that things had been getting rough for Omega, if not the entire galaxy.

The floor of Afterlife was littered with the broken remnants of alcohols, the strong scent of Noverian rum stood out amongst the aromas filling the room. Tables were flipped onto their sides, chairs strewn about, and on differing sets of footage could be seen scrolling across the extranet terminals.

"Batarian refugees fleeing the Harsa System."

"Reports of unusual sightings in the Sol system"

"Whole galaxy's going to hell, and of all the places to get hit, Omega has to be one of the first."

Nyreen and Aleena turned to see Aria leaning back in one of the chairs on the club's main floor. The only person still in the room, a glass in her hand, its top cracked in many places.

"What happened on the ship?" Aria asked next, asking for the debriefing from the duo.

"It was a Cerberus frigate. It had been overrun by Adjutants, and the records were wiped, most likely by the crew when they realized there was no way to save the ship. I recommend you have it destroyed immediately." Aleena answered immediately.

"And you?" Aria asked, turning to Nyreen.

"I agree with Aleena. The ship can only do damage in its current state, but what about Omega? Is the situation under control?"

"I have it under control, Kandros. I'm leaving to address the situation at its source. You're both dismissed." Aria said, downing the rest of her drink and standing up to head for the door before stopping just before the haptic panel.

Aleena departed swiftly, stepping around Aria and disappearing back into the depth of Omega as swiftly as she arrived. Nyreen lingered for a moment, eyeing the destruction around the bar.

"What happened while I was gone? Your recruiter didn't explain much." Nyreen asked, curious to the state of affairs on Omega after her long isolation on freelance jobs.

"A lot of things." She paused before finishing, "I have business to take care of. If you want work, ask one of my captains, if not, go home. Afterlife is closed."

Nyreen didn't have to hear it twice. She'd spent enough time around Aria to know that she was being nice in wording it that way. Whatever had happened recently had left Aria with quite a lot of stress.

The walk outside and into a skycab was filled with both silence and trepidation.

* * *

Her apartment, luckily for her, remained untouched by the petty criminals that frequented the station. Perhaps the rumor that she had been Aria's lover kept the crooks away, or perhaps the knowledge that she was a mercenary, or even the fact that she hardly owned anything of real value outside her armor and weapons. Any of the excuses would make sense, though perhaps simple luck kept people from trying to break into her living space.

As she stepped in, she detached her armor immediately, letting the heavy plates of metal and technical equipment slide off her smooth metallic flesh and into an organized pile next to her bed.

The water did little to sooth the tension in her muscles but it was undeniable that after spending months hopping ships to jobs, being home did feel nice.

She fell into a fitful sleep that night.

* * *

Her sleep was interrupted by an incoming transmission on her Omni-tool the following morning, if one could call the orbit cycle of Omega a true day and night.

"Captain Kandros, Nyreen, pick up!"

She recognized the voice as being one of the Talons scouts. Young. Human.

She pressed a button on the holographic Omni-tool, allowing it to answer the transmission.

"Thank god! Cap'n Kandros! Something's wrong, get down to the Talons HQ, we need your help!"

"You're going to have t-"She tried to answer, but was met by the transmission being cut off.

_What is going on with this station! _It seemed as if Omega was going crazy. On her first day back into the system for months she gets a job from Aria's syndicate to investigate a ghost-ship, then there's a firefight over Omega, and then whatever was happening with Aria. Adding trouble with the Talons on top of that just complicated things.

She swung from the bed and grabbed her armor pieces, locking them into place and engaging her passive barriers before arming up and exiting the room.

She took a shortcut to the Talons camp by cutting through the inner tunnels of the station, a gift of knowledge she'd received from Aria.

She arrived to find the guards not in their usual place. Entering through the heavy blast door she found a mass of bodies scrambling about, all of them members of the Talons aimlessly arming themselves.

"What's going on here?"

All eyes in the room drifted to her as she demanded the answer to her question. Eyes from different species all met her own, yet none of them stood able to answer the question until a human, one of her scouts, said what every member of the gang was thinking.

"Aria's gone."

"What?" The notion was insane. Aria was the ruler of Omega, the Pirate Queen of Omega. People that high-profile didn't just disappear.

"She came back just a few hours ago, sent out a message to the Blood Pack, the Blue Suns and the Eclipse. She said that Cerberus was launching a coup and that the time had come to pay their debts to her."

"What happened?" Nyreen asked next, already certain that this story did not have a happy ending.

"The other scouts say that she made it to Afterlife, but the Cerberus fleet overhead had her trapped. The station's defenses are disabled. They were going to demolish the station one level at a time if Aria didn't surrender."

"Well, is she okay?!" Nyreen asked next, her surprise evident in her tone.

"She's been exiled along with the other gangs, we're the only organized force left on Omega. Cerberus is going to crush us! We're not an army!" The human said, panic evident in his voice.

"Well, where's Derius, we need to organize a defense?!" Nyreen asked, crossing her arms over her torso as she awaited the answer, struggling to comprehend the situation..

The scout's eyes turned downcast, mournful as he answered. "Adjutants got him…there was nothing I could do. Captain Kandros, what should we do?" The scout asked next, clearly lost and confused as to what he should do.

Looking around the room, she could see that the rest of the gang was still watching her. Awaiting her response, her orders. Derius habit of employing her in a leadership position had certainly solidified who they thought their new leader was and that leader needed to make a decision.

"Start evacuating, we're going underground. Gather as many supplies as you can and start moving into the lower levels of the station, we need to establish a new base before Cerberus forces find our base here."

The room stood still for a moment before the gang dispersed all of them going to follow their new orders, hopeful that she had a plan to survive the occupation.

She followed the members as they began to grab the stockpiles of supplies and started to move them for the transport deeper into the station.

"I need the best scouts we have left." Nyreen commanded to the mass of soldiers next, causing six of them to step forward while the rest continued to pack up all the operations materials.

The scouts consisted of the scout she'd worked with before, a pair of Turians, a Krogan of all things, and three new humans all wearing the crimson armor with the Talons Claw etched onto the front.

"I want you all to start rounding up the civilians. It's not safe for them stay put when the Cerberus troops start marching in. Start leading people through the tunnels I showed you." She stated, whilst nodding to the human she'd worked with. "Get as many people as you can but don't risk detection." Nyreen then sent the group out before grabbing a metal crate of dextro-amino rations and carrying them with her as she led the Talons into their exodus in the bowels of Omega.


End file.
